CULTIVATION OF CRANBERRIES. 88 



soil of meadows, and covering the surface with sand before 

 setting cuttings or plants. 



Gathering the Fruit. — Cranberries should be well ripened 

 before being gathered. If picked before they are fully grown, 

 they are bitter. The same fruit that is inferior, bitter, and 

 nearly worthless when taken off too green, would be excellent 

 if fully ripened on the vines. Unripe berries, if spread in thin 

 layers on shelves, or on the floor of a room, become well colored 

 by exposure to light ; but the ripe appearance does not make 

 the quality good. 



Severe frost injures unripe cranberries. This causes some to 

 gather them too early. Perhaps the fruit might be protected, 

 if necessary, a few frosty nights in September, in the same way 

 that the blossoms are, sometimes, in spring. Three or four 

 small piles of turf, or brushwood and peat, placed around the 

 border of the meadow, are set on fire in the evening when there 

 is danger of frost. These fires are left to smoulder all night. 

 The smoke settling over the surface of the meadow, is sufficient 

 protection in quite cold nights. Three or four fires, if properly 

 arranged, will often protect two acres of vines or more. 



The cranberry-rake is much used in gathering the fruit on 

 wild meadows. On cultivated grounds, hand-picking is much 

 the best. The fruit so picked is all clean and nice, and unmixed 

 with bruised or worthless berries. The rake injures thickly 

 grown vines exceedingly. It is necessary, after using the rake, 

 to go over the ground again and pick by hand considerable 

 fruit that it leaves among the vines. To pick wholly by hand, 

 costs about fifty cents per bushel, usually, but sometimes a little 

 less. The nicer the fruit is grown, the more important it is to 

 pick by hand. 



Keeping. — Cranberries, if well ripened and properly gathered 

 and assorted, can be kept as easily as winter apples, and for a 

 much longer time. Some persons put them in barrels, soon 

 after being gathered, and place them in a cool and airy situation 

 at the north side of a building. They are left piled up there 

 till quite late in the season ; but when in danger of freezing, 

 they are taken within doors. During winter they are kept in 

 the cellar. 



Small quantities may be spread on shelves, or floors of airy 

 unused rooms. They may thus be kept nice till time to put 



